How much is our police misconduct and poor training costing us as a Nation?

[Bonobo]

Can our impoverished and broken cities and states really afford this?
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New York NY settles suit for $7.15mil to family of Sean Bell who was shot to death while unarmed on eve of wedding: http://is.gd/dNbWn

Chicago Aldermen Approve $16 Million Settlement for Police Mistreatment
http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/Content.aspx?audioID=41955

$1.6 Million Settlement Reached In Chasse Case
http://www.kptv.com/news/23518877/detail.html

Doña Ana County NM $575k awarded to family of man fatally shot then tasered 2x in front of his 6yr-old son by deputy: http://is.gd/dHKSr

Hawthorn CA may settle suit for $300k to 12yr-old autistic boy tasered at school, arrested a week later after complaint: http://is.gd/dLm3p

Las Vegas NV settles suit for $120k to man falsely arrested for DUI after cop doing 109 w/o lights or siren hit his truck http://is.gd/dEVcf

Pittsburg CA police lose brutality suit for $250k to man who broke eye socket when tasered by 3 cops simultaneously: http://is.gd/dKWXM

Los Angeles CA police sued by family of woman allegedly killed by jealous female cop in 1986 on allegations of cover-up: http://is.gd/dNpdB

Evansville IN cop found guilty on 2 counts of deviate conduct for forcing women to perform sexual acts while on-duty: http://is.gd/dNdEe

5 Peoria IL police officers subject of suit filed by man repeatedly tasered when cops dragged him from car in drug arrest http://is.gd/dNcSY

Bell CA sued by former police officer alleging he was forced out after reporting that cops participated in voter fraud: http://is.gd/dNc7X

Mount Vernon NY settles suit for $35k to man claiming cops abused him in attempt to elicit a false confession from him: http://is.gd/dJiTD

Los Angeles CA police officer awarded $700k by jury in sexual harassment case, mistreated because cops thought he was gay http://is.gd/dKcLb

New York State settles claim for $60k after former cop won suit against trooper for malicious prosecution & false arrest: http://is.gd/dMWDE

Chelan Co WA deputy & DUI suspect he chased at 100mph both subject suit filed by woman injured in crash caused by chase: http://is.gd/dMKOh

Cincinnati OH police officer runs over and kills woman who was sleeping in the grass at a city park: http://is.gd/dMBRk

Spokane WA police subject of suit filed by family of suicidal man who jumped from bridge after failed taser attempt: http://is.gd/dLib2

Nazareth PA police sued by female Puero Rican police officer alleging sexual harassment & racial discrimination: http://is.gd/dKS9a

Cuyahoga County OH ex-sheriff sentenced to 1yr house arrest, $21k fine & to pay $130k restitution for theft in office: http://is.gd/dKyaT

Yonkers NY settles suit for $10k to man seen in jail surviellance video being grabbed by the neck and shook by cop: http://is.gd/dJiTD

Annapolis MD police sued for allegedly dragging man from car & threatening to shoot friend for drugs they didn't have: http://is.gd/dI673

[asdjrocky]

1. Police training revolves around keeping the cop safe.

Little else, so of course this happens when they are told again and again that only their safety matters.

[ThomCat]

5. That is the essential point to make. Their first priority is Always

to keep themselves safe, not us.

Their training also emphasizes treating everyone else as if we are all potentially hostile and dangerous. That means all of us. It's hard to treat people as if we are all potentially hostile and dangerous, and at the same time treat us as innocent people with rights.

Law enforcement has become so incredibly militarized that we are now, in many ways, the enemy instead of the people they are supposed to serve and protect. :(

When your training says that it's you against everyone else, your only real priority HAS to be your own safety. So with the police so militarized, it's no wonder that all they really focus on is keeping themselves safe.

[gratuitous]

2. Well, in addition to the dead citizens

There are the wrongfully imprisoned, the tortured, the court costs and attorney fees, the damage to the public trust, and the rape, it's a wash, because we're all safer. Except the victims, of course. But most of them probably deserved it for one reason or another. God bless America.

[Tsiyu]

3. Adds up to $27,000,000.00 if I'm adding correctly

Twenty seven million just for the few cases you mentioned.

But it can't be THAT much. After all, police brutality RARELY happens.

And we can solve the money woes with Tort Reform! Gold-diggers probably provoked the cops just to get a settlement!




Just in case: :sarcasm:

[Bonobo]

4. Bad policing is draining local budgets. More articles here.

In Payouts for Police Use of Force, Portland Really is a First-Tier City (Updated)
http://blogs.wweek.com/news/2010/05/11/in-police-lawsuit-settlements-portland-is-a-first-tier-city/
Monday’s $1.6 million settlement of the lawsuit over the death of James Chasse Jr. is the biggest payout over police use-of-force in city history. And it also plants Portland firmly as a first-tier city in at least one regard — the cost of covering its alleged police brutality.

Minneapolis police brutality costs city some serious cash
http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2009/09/minneapolis_pay.php
In 1994, City Pages published a story on police brutality within the Minneapolis Police Department, identifying a dozen cops whose histories of doling out beatings over the previous decade had cost the department $5.8 million in settlement payouts and court costs. In 2005, City Pages again looked at police misconduct, noting that that the department settled 190 cases for about $10.9 million in the ten years that ended in 2005.

Police lawsuits cost city thousands
http://columbiachronicle.com/police-lawsuits-cost-city-thousands/
The city of Chicago spent $740,000 in the past month settling lawsuits that stemmed from two separate incidents involving the same two Chicago Police Officers.

Police lawsuit to cost city 6 figures, source says
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004032283_alleybarnes24m.html
The city of Seattle has agreed to pay $185,000 to a man who filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit against the police department after he was beaten, kicked and arrested by officers outside a Capitol Hill nightclub in 2005, according to court documents and an informed source.

Police Lawsuits Cost City Millions of Dollars
http://www.kmph.com/Global/story.asp?S=9984454
One incident has already cost the city (Fresno) nearly $2 million.

Newark police misconduct costs taxpayers
http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2010/07/newark_police_misconduct_costs.html
Once lawyers tally up interest for this verdict, legal fees for his attorneys, plus the two private law firms hired to defend Newark, this case will likely cost millions.

The high cost of police brutality
http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_5669.shtml
Abusive cops are costing already cash-strapped cities across the U.S. millions of dollars in settlements but civil rights activists and attorneys warn that the payouts will continue unless the criminal justice system begins to prosecute its out-of-control officers.

In defending police lawsuit, Menlo Park runs up tab of nearly $350,000
http://www.almanacnews.com/news/show_story.php?id=5742

Police Lawsuit Costs Long Beach At Least $1 Million
http://www.avvo.com/news/police-lawsuit-costs-long-beach-at-least--1-million-650.html
Attorney fees for a lawsuit filed by most of the Long Beach, California, police force have hit almost $1.1 million, after the City Council approved payment of an additional $200,000 to their legal representatives on Tuesday.

Suits Against Police on the Rise
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703322204575226733898737568.html
The total number of these lawsuits rose from 969 in 2001 to 1,909 last year, data from the New York City Law Department show. Such suits, which accounted for 56% of all cases brought against the police department in 2001, made up 72% in 2010.